Spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a massive franchise, but a few properties stand out as fan favorites. Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely in that category, especially for those who have been watching the Marvel movies in order. The threequel ended the story of the current team, to emotional results. And Vin Diesel recently reflected on Groot’s final line.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 subverted fan expectations by giving the team of cosmic heroes their happy ending. That includes Groot, whose final line was “I love you guys.” While some fans were confused by this, James Gunn confirmed that it meant the audience could finally understand Groot’s language. Vin Diesel has been voicing the beloved Guardian for years now, and in a video from ET’s Twitter, he reflected about his final line, saying:
You know, just... on that front, it was very cool because it meant that the audience is now able to understand the vernacular, the language of this Flora colossus, and that's a testament to the ten years of loyalty which we've been so blessed with in this franchise with the Groot character and patience to have people wait that long for somebody saying three words. But, like everything alive, with patience and dedication.
There you have it. While hearing Groot say a different line of dialogue might have initially been confusing for some fans, the meaning is deeper, and is yet another way that Guardians 3’s ending perfectly pays off. The audience earns both Rocket’s backstory and Groot’s language throughout the trilogy, especially in Vol. 3.
James Gunn did the impossible with the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie, and made the motley crew of unknown heroes into some of the MCU’s most popular. Since then the characters have grown and changed, culminating in the wholly satisfying ending of Vol. 3. And while Guardians 3’s credits scenes teased the future of the heroes, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll see the OGs back on the screen together.
Vin Diesel was able to wax poetic about Groot’s final line in Guardians 3 while at the premiere of his highly anticipated blockbuster Fast X. Diesel is having a very busy month, thanks to the release of these two blockbusters. Of course, his dialogue is far more complicated for Dom Toretto.
If/when Groot returns to the MCU it should be fascinating to see if audiences are still able to understand what he says. This would be an interesting charge for Diesel’s character, but would also forfeit plenty of comedic beats. But he’s still an official Guardian, and should presumably be included whenever the team returns to the shared universe.
Guardians 3 is in theaters now, and the next upcoming Marvel movie being released is The Marvels on November 10th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
